By Ewan Murray
Euro 2024 will attract audiences from across the globe, but football fans will be greeted by an unfamiliar face in Germany.
When tuning into the action, supporters are bound to lay their eyes on Albart, the official mascot for this summer's European Championship. Every tournament since 1980 has had one, with some far more memorable than others.
Albart's legacy will undoubtedly live on should Germany succeed as hosts this summer, but what is the Euro 2024 mascot and how was he chosen?
Who is Euro 2024 mascot Albart?
In case it wasn't entirely clear, Albart is a simple teddy bear. This is said to pay tribute to the fact that teddy bears originated in Germany in the 20th century, with Albart donning a football kit and boots made up of the red, black and yellow of the country's flag.
Albart was chosen by the German public, beating out rivals Barnardo, Barnheart and Herzi von Bar with 32% of the vote. He made his first appearance at Germany's friendly with Colombia in Gelsenkirchen on 20 June 2023.
One of Albart's missions as Euro 2024 mascot is to inspire children to be more active, something he has done by visiting schools across Germany in the build-up to the tournament.
Speaking about Albart's influence, tournament director and Germany icon Phillip Lahm stated: "As a parent, I know how important it is to stimulate children's imagination. With the launch of our tournament mascot, we hope to create a fun and likeable character that will inspire them to enjoy playing football."
Previous European Championship mascots
Mascots have been used at the Euros since Italy 1980, with Pinocchio the first ever created. As the name suggests, he was based on the famous children's character and his nose was painted the colours of the Italian national flag.
Following Pinocchio, mascots tended to be based on animals. Euro 1996 in England saw Goaliath, a lion dressed in an England shirt, while there has also been a cockerel (Euro 1984), rabbits (Euro 1988 and 1992) and another lion (Euro 2000).
Since 2004, Euros mascots have all been anthropomorphic, with Skillzy - inspired by freestyle footballers - the most recent iteration at Euro 2020. Albart is the first animal mascot for over two decades and will be aiming to bring Germany some good luck this summer.
This article was originally published on 90min.com as Meet Albart: Who is the Euro 2024 mascot?.
